Complaint for Damages "Wrongful Death" of Justin Smith (Plaintiff's son) This case concerns the death of Justin

Smith, 22 years old, following a July 13, 2000 collision when he drove his 1966 Mustang to excessive speed and it went off the road (a few hundred yards from the turnoff to Narconons Watsonville facility) and hit a tree. Justin was a client at the Narconon facility in Watsonville, and the allegation is that Narconon staffer Scott Friend wrongly provided Justin the keys to his vehicle while he was involved in treatment (which enabled the accident to occur). It is not believed that drugs or alcohol were a factor in this accident, per the initial CHP report. There were also 3 other persons in that vehicle, and of them a fellow client (Chad Skoglie, age 27) also died, and two Narconon staffers (Eric Petersen, age 31, and John Vereeke, age 33) were seriously injured. Chad Skoglie was the son of xxxxxxxx xxxxxxx Lxxxx Sxxxxxx, and a later complaint (which was consolidated into this case) was filed on behalf of minor children "(N)" and "(McK)" (regarding the loss of their relation) who resided with their grandmother in Idaho. Justin had obtained his vehicle following phone calls made to his mother, who had planned to remove his vehicle from a residential garage. Justin feared that his black 1966 Mustang, a prized possession, would get "destroyed" from "sitting in the street" near a 7-11 convenience store. Justin was in treatment for methamphetamine use, following unspecified legal action for possession (possibly of methamphetamine or paraphernalia), and was described by Narconon as "typical for admission (to their program)": "smart," "rebellious," "in denial, and in "legal trouble." The Plaintiff's claim was that providing car keys to an addict in treatment, was a violation of not only treatment rules but could also be seen as negligence. Narconon's attorney, Steven D. Werth of Low, Ball & Lynch of San Francisco, countered that the decedent was "negligent himself." Narconon's defense largely rested on a combination of "crosscomplaint" legal filings described by the Plaintiff's attorney as being "without any legal or factual theory or justification" and "solely for the purpose of and intention to intimidate, coerce an/or deter Smith's pursuit of her original claim," and depositions of Narconon staff, (some of whom were located by private investigators after being transferred to a women's shelter in New Mexico, and others who repeated the assertion that decedent Smith had exhibited speed as he left the facility just prior to the accident). Narconon claimed that the "release of liability" signed by Justin when he entered his treatment program on May 8, 2000, included language which prevented "any legal action or litigation against Narconon Inc., its Board of Directors, members, employees, or L. Ron Hubbard arising for any reason out of my participation in the Narconon program." Staff at Narconon Watsonville in 2000 were listed as: Tyson Bates, Joey Burnham, John Burns, Scott Friend, Angie Manson, Daniel Manson, Laurie Miller, Andy Troy Moore, Lisa Moore, Eric Petersen, Tatsuya Sakamoto, xxxxx xxxxxx, William Starr, P.J. Treat, and John Vereeke.

Others named (possibly clients) were: Ed Hocking, Frank Montara, Mr. Papastefanou, and Richard Prescott. A local resident who witnessed the accident was "Hagger." Eric Petersen, injured in accident, (was Narconon employee) Last at: Redondo Technologies, Redondo Beach CA 90277 Smith's mother subsequently established a drug-abuse information program, seen at welcome to the Jason Foundation, which offers scholarships to students in drug counseling curricula, and which provides information on state legislation requiring training of drug counselors. ---------------(Excerpt from FREEDOM November-December 2005) http://216.167.201.77/pages/posts/the-justin-foundation--a-safe-place43.php It was Thursday July 13, 2000, but I remember it like it was yesterday. I was standing in my living room at 11:30 PM listening to two police officers tell me my twenty-two year old son had died in a car accident earlier that evening. My first words were, "It can't be Justin; he's in a safe place". It was Justin. In the weeks and months that followed, I learned that he had not been in a safe place. I learned that: In the drug addiction field there were few regulations; Marketing claims publicized by drug rehabilitation clinics could be unsubstantiated; Residential drug rehabilitation facilities could obtain state licensure by writing their own program; Patient recruiting and interventions could be sold on a commission basis; Drug addiction counselors were not required to have any formal education or training; Patient recruiting and interventions could be sold on a commission basis; Drug addiction counselors were not required to have any formal education or training; There were no regulations regarding length of time a counselor needed to be sober before working with clients; Sexual relationships between staff members and/or clients could go undisciplined; Alcohol and other drugs could be kept and consumed by staff on residential rehabilitation premises; Traffic accidents involving drunken staff and clients could go unreported to proper authorities; Sexual harassment and verbal abuse of staff and clients could occur without consequence; Even rumors of rape and sexual perversity warranted no investigation. I was appalled and

sickened at what I heard from previous clients, staff and family members. I asked myself how I, or other parents, could have known what was going on behind closed doors and the answer is that we could not. The Justin Foundation was founded because everyone in need of treatment for alcohol or drug addiction should have a SAFE place to go. Most of us parents do not know much about addictive drugs, so The Justin Foundation s first task was to create a parent-friendly web site at The Justin Foundation offering information regarding addictive drugs. The second goal was to see mandatory education and training for drug addiction counselors. The newly enacted state regulations are a start. We are hopeful the newly formed CAADAC/PAC will be able to influence legislators to strengthen requirements. The Justin Foundation stands ready to support that effort and has agreed to serve on the Counselor Certification and Oversight Committee being formed by the State. In today's world of addiction recovery, people can be in unsafe situations now, so it is imperative we get more counselors that are qualified into the field as quickly as possible. This year The Justin Foundation started a scholarship fund to assist people who are committed to obtaining addiction counselor certification obtain a formal education. To insure professionalism, only CAADAC approved study programs qualify. Recipients receive $500.00 per semester for tuition and books, which is renewable as long as the student maintains a B average in six or more units. We were able to award two scholarships for the 2005-06 academic year. In 2006-07, we will award as many scholarships as we can fund. If you can help with this endeavor, very dollar you send will go directly into the scholarship fund and is 100% tax deductible. [img=http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9319/smithaccidentnews.th.jpg] [img=http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/1882/accidentreport1.th.jpg] [img=http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/2611/coverup1.th.jpg] [img=http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/9421/coverup2.th.jpg] TomVorm, Mar 20, 2009